Trustees meetings – The law around notice and attendance

Notice of a trustees meeting must, in principle, be given to all persons entitled to attend that meeting.

The persons entitled to attend a meeting of trustees are:

All current trustees, but the prescribed rules specifically provide that it is not necessary to give notice to any trustee who is not in the country;

Any alternate trustee who has been appointed for any trustee who is not available for whatever reason;

Any person who holds a first bond over a unit and has in writing requested notice of trustee meetings; and

All owners.

What about the managing agent?

The prescribed rules also require that the trustees give reasonable prior notice of their meetings to the scheme’s managing agent, but go on to provide that the managing agent “may with the consent of the trustees be present”.

This means that the managing agent does have the right to notice of the trustees meeting but does not have a right, by virtue of his or her office, to attend those meetings. The managing agent may be present by virtue of the express or implied consent of the majority of the trustees and if that consent is withdrawn the managing agent is obliged to leave the meeting.

In practice the managing agent often prepares the notices for trustee meetings, so it is only when one or more of the trustees decides to call a trustees meeting themselves that it would be necessary to give the managing agent notice.